Monday, May 25, 2015

For a couple of weeks now I've had a niggling voice in my head telling me I should start {or at least attempt} to toilet train bub. She's become quite interested in the toilet, pointing at it every time T or I go {in addition to following us into the toilet as usual}. She's also started pulling off her pyjama pants and occasionally trying to undo her nappies. Then the other week at mum's house her cousin was on the toilet and bub kept walking in trying to sit on her lap on the toilet with her {much to her cousins disapproval}. So I figured it was time to give this toilet training thing a go...

We've been using nappy pants for a while now as nappy change times have been quite challenging since she realised she could get up and run away {thankfully she doesn't need many changes each day now}. I always intended on moving from nappy pants to training pants when it came time to toilet train, so when BabyLove contacted me to see if I was interested in trialling their new Charlie & Lola training pants I decided it was finally time to jump on the toilet training bandwagon.

Moving from nappy pants to training pants always seemed like a natural progression to me. I'm not one to go cold turkey and move her from nappies straight to undies, partly because I didn't want to deal with the inevitable mess on the floor, but also because I didn't want it to be a huge shock to her. I'm also not prepared to lock myself away at home for days on end while she learns to go to the toilet herself. I always wanted to ease her into toilet training and follow her lead to determine whether we should push on or whether we pull back and wait a bit longer.

The training pants are great because they're a mix between a pair of undies and a nappy {they look like undies at the top with a nappy through the bottom}. They'll hopefully give her a smoother transition from nappies to undies by gradually taking away the nappy feeling instead of going cold turkey. They come in two different sizes, 12-18kg and 16kg+. Bub's been trialling the 12-18kg size {she's 14.5kg}, but I'd be interested to see what the next size is like on her. This size fits but due to her chunky thighs they're a little more difficult to get on and off than I think they should be {although they're a nice snug fit when on}, At the moment she's happy for me to pull them on and off, which probably isn't that bad because otherwise we'd more than likely have a half naked child running around the house most of the day.

Obviously the part bub likes most about the training pants {and the part I'm sure most toddlers will like} is that fact they feature Charlie & Lola on the front. Before I even opened the packet bub noticed Charlie & Lola on the packaging and got super excited exclaiming "muuuuuuuum, dere dere!" while pointing at them. It was exactly the same when I got out a pair of pants to put on her. I've literally never seen her so excited to put on pants before.

The training pants have a feel wet liner which lets kids feel like they're wet before the moisture is absorbed so it stays feeling wet on the inside for longer than nappies do. Its designed to help kids realise when they've gone and help them learn bladder control. I can tell that its working just by the feel of the pants, but I'm not sure its making much of a difference for her at the moment. I have a feeling she just isn't 100% fully cognitively ready for toilet training yet, but I'm sure over time she'll get used to it. The wetness indicator shows kids when their pants are wet, but again I don't think she takes much notice of it, its more useful for me than her.

The major difference I've noticed between the nappy pants and the training pants is that they don't hold as much wee, which is obviously deliberate because the child should be at least doing some wee in the toilet. For this reason I only put her in them when we're at home when I can still place her on the potty at certain times. When we're out I leave her in nappy pants because I don't have a potty with me {and I think if I sat her on a normal toilet at this stage she'd freak out}. She also still wears nappies at night, but I imagine she'll be doing that for a while longer, even after she's properly toilet trained {to avoid night time accidents}.

So where are we at with toilet training? Well, its only been just over a week and at the moment she's showing promising signs when it comes to the potty. She happily sits on it when I put her on there and also goes up to it numerous times to sit on it herself {with her pants on though}. She hasn't done an actual wee in there yet, but I figured that'd be a small miracle within a week, so I'm not too worried by it. At the moment I plan on continuing with my softly and slowly approach putting her on the potty throughout the day and asking her if she needs to do wee wee's. We'll continue using the training pants throughout the day and hopefully with time she'll learn to take them on and off herself and realise when she needs to go to the toilet without being prompted.

Ideally the training pants would be perfect for a toddler who's slightly more ready to toilet train than bub, but they're still working fine for us. If you're embarking on the toilet training train as well then you'll want to enter the special Charlie & Lola giveaway below that BabyLove have put together for Finding Myself Young readers. You can also request a free sample of the new training pants here.

CHARLIE & LOLA BABYLOVE TRAINING PANTS GIVEAWAY

Thanks to BabyLove I have a special Charlie & Lola prize pack for one lucky reader. The prize pack includes a Charlie & Lola quilt set, "My Best dressed" Lola beanie doll, Charlie & Lola wooden dominoes set, Charlie & Lola mini book set and the new Charlie & Lola training pants. The total prize pack is valued at $100.

To enter simply subscribe to my monthly newsletter and leave a comment below letting me know your best tip for toilet training {or the best tip you've been given if you're a newbie toilet trainer like me}.

Good Luck!

Toni x

P.S. If you're having issues leaving a comment choose the anonymous option and then change the name to your name or include your name and email address in your comment.

Terms & ConditionsCompetition commences 6:00am May 25th 2015 and ends 12:00pm May 31st 2015. Entry is open to Australian residents only, excluding ACT. One reader will win a Charlie & Lola prize pack from BabyLove valued at $100. Prize is not transferable. Prize will be delivered by BabyLove, Finding Myself Young takes no responsibility for prize delivery. This competition is a game of skill and will be judged as such. All mandatory entry steps must be completed to constitute a valid entry. Incomplete entries will be deemed invalid and excluded from judging. Winner will have 72hrs to respond or prize will be redrawn. This competition is in no way endorsed, promoted or administered by Facebook.

Disclosure - I was sent some BabyLove Charlie & Lola training pants in order to provide a review. All opinions expressed in this review are based on my experience with the product {and toilet training} as per my disclosure policy. I did not receive payment for this review.

44 comments:

We've been at it for way longer than I'd like but pregnancy has wiped me out a bit along the way. What does help is a sticker chart for successful sits. 1 for wee, 2 for poos lol and sometimes just letting her pick her next sticker in advance is motivation enough to have her sit when she's being resistant. Otherwise it needs to be when they are ready. I haven't tried training pants yet. We use pull ups but training pants would be better.

best tip i ever got was be patient. its not going to happen overnight but in their own time they will get the hang of it. unfortunately for me though Izzy is going to be so much more challenging then Ella was due to her ASD but when she is ready i will start her.

Best tip is not to make a big deal about it. Keep it light and when the inevitable mistakes happen just clean up in a straightforward manner. Last thing you want it Bub thinking toile ting is gross or disgusting...

Great tips here! I'm yet to embark on toilet training (my daughter is 17 months) however I've been told to reward or praise when a good job is done, and clean up any messes without getting upset. Let's hope I can stick to that! :)

My fail safe tips are to have a lot of patience and I don't mean a little bit more than usual, I mean a lot. It does take time and they don't get it first go.My next tip is bribery!! Lots and lots of bribery. Instant rewards for are a way to instill good habits.

I'm about to start training and will be using rewards when she goes, reading to her while on the potty and books are her life at the moment and just relax about the process - no need getting your knickers in a knot lol!

When my daughter started toilet training we tried reward charts, stickers, prizes, stories, bribery...everything we could think of. Know what worked??Nothing. She did it in her own time, when she was ready. (And has hardly had any accidents since) My son is getting close to wanting to use the loo, and I'm sure that he'll do it when he's good and ready, just like his big sister. We're switching to training pants soon to make the transition a bit smoother, and he loves Charlie & Lola, so the prize might help to encourage him ;)

My best toilet training tip would be to skip the potty and go straight to the toilet!! Talking to other mums, I found that most kids get confused training to do both and it really dragged out the training process.

Each of my kids were better at night time toilet training than daytime - isn't that weird? I've never had the issue of bedwetting but they would sometimes get so preoccupied with what they were doing that they would miss the signs during the day and wet themselves then. Strange but true. These look like a great option to start off the training - good luck with it Toni!

I've just returned to work full time after bubba #2 and have let this slide with my 2.5 year old! I actually didn't realise there was a difference between nappy pants and training plans so this was a great read! Thanks for sharing!

Subscribed to newsletter.Best tip...a couple things. Teach them about the bathroom, toilet, reproductive system.Then ask consistently if they have to go pee.We're still working on it!Thanks for the opportunity!

Don't compare your child's toilet training phase with your friend's kids or your own kids. Every child is different and every child does get toilet trained when he/she is ready. The best thing we can do is be persistent , buy training pants with fun character on them, allow them to decorate their step - stool and potty training seat with stickers ,reward them with stationary items and keep it as much fun as possible.

We waited until our bub was really interested in using the toilet, it was less stress and hardly any accidents. Why force something that will come naturally? When baby is ready that is when you will get your best results

I'm currently attempting to toilet train my 5th child, you think I'd have it down pat by now hey? Wrong! I have a three year old who cares not for stamps, stickers, even one of the revered "potty lollies" from the special jar, she just does not want to, stubborn little girl she is! I'm hoping she will just decide one day that she now wants to and that will be it! With my older ones I found not trying too early meant we went from nappies day and night to dry day and night, with no bed wetters.

(I shop from home online and always buy Baby love nappy pants but I haven't seen these, how cute are they will Charlie and Lola on them??) Wendy S (already a subscriber)

I know many parents won't agree and it will cause a mess but my best tip is to stop using diapers after bub is 2 years old. This way they know the feel of underwear, what its like to soil their clothes (versus a diaper) and are aware of surrounds.

The best tip I've been given is not to make a fuss when accidents happen (and they're bound to happen)! Making your little one feel bad or embarrassed about wetting the bed or their pants will usually cause regressing in their toilet training journey.Believe it or not, I remember wetting the bed when I was little. I managed to strip the bed and throw the sheets in the washing basket. I always thought I managed to clean up the evidence before mum found out but in hindsight she must've cleaned it all up for me and not fussed about it. Thanks mum for this tip!

Have many clothes and also use rewards (sticker charts. Small toy etc) your chlid has to be ready if they aren't pushing them into it may just send them backwards and take even longer. Wishing eveyone luck for your TT journey while we persist with ours ����

Bribery, I'm not above it at all & it is working a treat for my little one 'if you sit on the potty you can play with 'paddy' (iPad) which has normally been reserved for special occasions or when mummy needs 5 min break or yay you did three drops in the potty here have a square of chocolate, it may be costing me a block every few days (in fairness I would say it's 50/50, one for doing the drops one for me for cleaning the potty lol) but at least he is sitting on it and doing something, a far cry from where we were a month ago

Life became much easier once I only had one child in nappies, so now I'm looking forward to my daughter deciding to move to undies. Tricks that helped her brother were choosing big boy undies, tokens, watching other kids use the potty, and a ton of patience! Thanks for the encouragement, Amanda H

Wait until your child shows interest and be encouraging and excited about toilet training. Never get discouraged or frustrated and offer little rewards along the way. It's such a big milestone and shouldn't be rushed. Jodi Wells

Plan a few days at home when you are going to start toilet training and plan lots of activities either outside or on the tiles inside. Saves cleaning the carpet! Take deep breaths when there is an accident, and chant silently, "That's how he/she learns..."

Let them do it in their own time, not on your schedule. If they are not ready then it will be messy and lengthy and frustrating for both of you. When they're really ready, it will just happen. And don't worry if it feels like everyone else's toddler is toilet trained already. It's not a competition and they won't be going off to university in nappies so take your time and let them be little.

Don't stress - everyone masters this skill eventually and the last thing you want is for them to pick up on any anxiety you may have around the issue.My little girl is really enjoying the fact that she is a big girl now that there is a baby brother on the scene. In fact, tonight is her second night in her new 'big girl' bed. So when we are talking about 'big girl' things, I like to casually slip in mentions of using the potty/toilet as something she might like to try using soon. I find it always helps to 'plant the seed' ahead of changes I want to make. Ironically, I had already been using Charlie and Lola (her current idols at the moment) to do this for the move to the big bed - 'Oooh look, your new bed is just like Lola's. And Charlie and Lola share a bedroom, wouldn't it be fun if you're brother was in the same room with you.' She was pretty excited when she spotted them on the nappy pants in the supermarket.

My first some how knew what to do, I did nothing but show her the loo, Lara on the other hand, loves naked that part is grand, but all the accidents that I clean, made me realise 2nd time wont be a dream. So many books I have read, I'm trying to learn to train instead, iv come to realise it takes time, on Lara's terms not on mine. So now we have a singing potty, we're making progress but the song sends me dotty :) Amanda C (acu email)